African/non-Arab refugees from violence in Darfur began to flee to eastern Chad well before the date conventionally used to mark the outbreak of large-scale violence in Darfur itself, February 2003—fourteen and a half years ago. The Massalit in particular were victims of brutal attacks by Khartoum-sanctioned militias in the 1990s, and they have suffered particularly severe and concentrated human destruction and displacement. This is true even within the ghastly context of Khartoum’s genocidal counter-insurgency in Darfur, beginning in earnest following the successful rebel attack on the El Fasher airbase in April 2003. Hundreds of thousands of African/non-Arab Darfuris remain trapped as refugees in twelve main camps in eastern Chad, unable to return because of the massive insecurity that continues to prevail in most of Darfur—insecurity that will only increase with the severe reductions in the UN/African Union “hybrid” Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). On June 30, 2017 the UN Security Council renewed the mandate for UNAMID, but—at Khartoum’s behest—reduced the military presence in Darfur by 44 percent and the police presence by more than 30 percent. Perhaps, then, it should not be surprising that Sudan Tribune today reports the following: • Sudanese refugees say they want to settle in Chad | August 7, 2017 (KHARTOUM) | http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article63192 Over 500 Sudanese from West Darfur state who have recently moved into eastern Chad told the UN refugee agency they have no intention to return to their homeland. In an update on the refugee situation in Chad released on 7 August, the UNCHR Chad said some 112 families, 512 people have arrived the village of Katarfa in eastern Chad on Saturday 29th July 2017. The Sudanese refugees, “mainly women and children are from the Massalit ethnic group, told the UN aid workers they fled their village, Terbebe or Terbiba near the border with Chad, following a surge of violence after a clash between a Massalit farmer and a cattle herder. In a report about the refugees in Chad released on 31 July, the UNHCR says there are 319,512 Sudanese refugees generally residing in 12 camps in the eastern part of the country since 2003. Perhaps of note, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) “Factsheet” of May 2017 (https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/56878/) gives a figure of 317,219 Darfuri refugees—more than 2,000 fewer than the July 31, 2017 report cited by Sudan Tribune. And given the substance of the Sudan Tribune report, an increase in the number of Darfuri refugees is a distinct possibility. Indeed, so low a priority have Darfuri refugees been in eastern Chad, that it seems important to note first of all how rare reporting is of any kind. And what reporting there is seems not to figure in the accounts rendered by UNHCR, which often ignore the intense resistance of these refugees to any thought of returning voluntarily to Darfur: Refugees in eastern Chad refuse to return to Darfur | Radio Dabanga | November 1, 2015 | EASTERN CHAD | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/refugees-in-eastern-chad-refuse-to-return-to-darfur The Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad categorically refuse to join the voluntary repatriation programme in the current insecure climate. The refugees set the restoration of the rule of law, disarmament of the militias, prosecution of the perpetrators of war crimes, and compensation, as conditions for their voluntary return. A delegation of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and a representative of the Chadian government, held a meeting with refugee leaders in the Djabal camp on Tuesday concerning the voluntary repatriation programme, as agreed between the UNHCR and the Sudanese and Chadian authorities in September. “They told us that a Sudanese delegation will visit the camps in November to prepare for the return of the refugees,” El Zein Mohamed Ahmed, Radio Dabanga correspondent in eastern Chad reported. “The refugee elders and sheikhs asserted their categorical rejection of the voluntary repatriation programme while the situation in most parts of Darfur is still extremely unsafe and insecure,” he said. “They told them the refugees will not welcome any delegation from the Khartoum regime, which is the main cause of their suffering.” A similar account could be found in a report from the independent UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) several years earlier: Darfur’s Forgotten Refugees | IRIN | GOZ BEIDA, 10 August 2012 Ten years after fleeing violence in the Sudanese region of Darfur, Abdulla Juma Abubakr has no intention of returning home. After leaving the West Darfur town of El-Geneina in 2002, he first spent two years in a border camp inside Sudan, before moving on to Djabal, a refugee camp in eastern Chad’s Goz-Beida region. “From what I saw when we left, the way people were killed, mosques burnt… I can’t imagine going back,” Abubakr, a refugee leader at the camp, told IRIN. “I know that other people are going back but I can’t go back. I still have some family members in Darfur but I can’t be sure of my security if I return.” Many of the camp’s 18,000 refugees, most of them from Darfur, are also reluctant to return home. “The Darfur refugees have put many conditions towards return – security and recovery of property and land and other things,” Aminata Gueye, the representative of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Chad, told IRIN. “We were working on a tripartite mechanism with respect to possible repatriation, but as long as the situation is not good they will not return. We were hoping in 2013 to facilitate the returns of some refugees, mainly the Masaliet.” The Masaliet are a non-Arab ethnic group found in parts of Sudan and Chad. Reporting on Darfuri refugees has been made more difficult by the fact that UNHCR has not regularly provided a current total for refugees, and the number used in what reporting there is on the refugee crisis has offered very substantially varying figures. A timeline of figures as reported by UNHCR and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs over the past decade appears here as APPENDIX A; it is quite possible that the present figure is considerably higher than UNHCR indicates because of significant limitations in survey tools. Disgracefully in Darfur itself, UN OCHA has been deeply irresponsible in its promulgation of figures for displacement since the tenure of Georg Charpentier (UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Darfur, 2009 – 2011). The problems have persisted: see “Displacement in Sudan and Darfur: UN figures continue to be careless, corrupt, or inadequate” | May 22, 2017 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-23o. I have myself written regularly about the refugee situation in eastern Chad for more than a decade, trying to highlight the plight of these invisible people. Exactly one year ago I attempted ask about the number of refugees in Chad, given the challenges posed by UNHCR refusals to be consistently forthcoming: “How Many Refugees in Chad?” | (August 9, 2016 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1Vw/) In late April of this year [2016] I published “Invisible, Forgotten, and Suffering: Darfuri Refugees in Eastern Chad,” (Sudan Tribune, April 28, 2016 | http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article58797/). The piece drew a sharply critical response from UN High Commission for Refugee officials in Chad, although they addressed few of the issues I raised in my piece. One issue, however, was clarified in the email exchange between me and these UNHCR officials (emails: April 29 – April 30, 2016): the number of Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad as of the time, according to UNHCR, was 302,000—well below the figure of 380,000 that UNHCR had promulgated just a year earlier (see below). [This analysis was a follow-up to: “Darfuri Refugees in Eastern Chad: Among the world’s most forgotten people” (18 July 2014 | http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article587/] Notably, neither UNHCR figure—302,000 or 380,000—corresponds with the present figure of “319,512.” If we assume that “302,000” was the correct figure in April 2016, this means that the Darfur refugee population in Darfur has increased by more than 17,000—a much greater figure than the recent increase of “500 people” reported by Sudan Tribune. This sort of large fluctuation has unfortunately been the norm for UNHCR, a significant problem, given the ways in which humanitarian resources are allocated on the basis of the size of an affected population. Reports of failures to deliver food, of food shortages, lack of sheltering material, lack of medical care (and especially treatment for girls and women who have been victims of sexual violence), educational shortcomings—all have been constants, though almost never reported except by Radio Dabanga and Sudan Tribune. The report from IRIN in 2012 is a notable exception. Genocide in Darfur Spreads to Eastern Chad In 2005 – 2006 the ethnically-targeted violence in Darfur began to spill into eastern Chad in a way that posed serious threats to the refugee population—a development chronicled by Human Rights Watch and others: “Darfur Bleeds: Recent Cross-Border Violence in Chad” | February 21, 2006 | http://pantheon.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/africa/chad0206/ Summary The crisis in Darfur, Sudan, which has been trickling into Chad for the better part of three years, is now bleeding freely across the border. A counterinsurgency carried out by the Sudanese government and its militias against rebel groups in Darfur, characterized by war crimes and “ethnic cleansing,” has forcibly displaced almost two million civilians in Darfur and another 220,000 people who have fled across the border into Chad. The same ethnic “Janjaweed” militias that have committed systematic abuses in Darfur have staged cross-border raids into Chad, attacking Darfurian refugees and Chadian villagers alike, seizing their livestock and killing those who resist. The government of Sudan is actively exporting the Darfur crisis to its neighbor by providing material support to Janjaweed militias and by failing to disarm or control them, by backing Chadian rebel groups that it allows to operate from bases in Darfur, and by deploying its own armed forces across the border into Chad. Other publications from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International followed: Chad/Sudan: Sowing the Seeds of Darfur: Ethnic Targeting in Chad by Janjawid Militias from Sudan | Amnesty International, 27 June 2006, Index number: AFR 20/006/2006 | https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr20/006/2006/en/ The Janjawid have now extended their activities Sudan’s Darfur region into eastern Chad. There, they have targeted a diverse range of ethnic groups who identify themselves and are identified by others as “African” rather than “Arab.” The Janjawid have stolen the cattle that are their main source of wealth, driven them from their homes and villages, and killed or dispersed their inhabitants. Urgent action is required by the UN, the African Union (AU) and particularly the two governments involved if this new, emerging crisis is to be forestalled in eastern Chad. “Violence beyond borders: The human rights crisis in eastern Chad” | Human Rights Watch, 22 June 2006 | http://reliefweb.int/report/chad/violence-beyond-borders-human-rights-crisis-eastern-chad I published my own assessment in the Boston Globe on April 26, 2006 (“The Looming Chaos in Chad”), assessin g the political impact of Chadian rebel movements and the response of Chad’s brutally expedient president, Idriss Déby (http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/04/26/the_looming_chaos_in_chad/) A much more recent and very moving account comes Alex Neve, Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada: “‘It always feels like something is about to explode’: Tensions along the Chad Darfur border,” by Alex Neve, Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada, November 19, 2013) But with the defeat of Chadian rebels and the diminishment of cross-border genocidal violence by Khartoum’s militias, Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad became increasingly invisible. Indeed, In would argue would argue that they are the most invisible of the surviving victims of the Darfur genocide, even as mortality has at times been significant in some of the refugee camps. Violence and Humanitarian Conditions for Darfuri Refugees in Eastern Chad There is far too little reporting on the conditions for the hundreds of thousands of Darfuri refugees in Chad. For much of 2015 I reported, in a series of twenty-eight updates (http://wp.me/p45rOG-1Or/), based on Radio Dabanga, dispatches on conditions in both Darfur and eastern Chad. Previous dispatches from Radio Dabanga were also included as appropriate, especially for Chad. Herewith some examples, nowhere to be found in reporting by UNHCR or UN OCHA (Note: camp populations in eastern Chad are primarily women and children—well over 60 percent of the total population): • Serious water shortage in eastern Chad camp; refugees facing threat of diseases as they use contaminated water from nearby valleys | (Radio Dabanga [Brejean, also Bredjing], August 9, 2012) Nearly 45,000 Sudanese [Darfuri] refugees from the Brejean camp (eastern Chad) are suffering from acute water shortage after the water pump’s generator broke down, residents complained on Tuesday. This has resulted in refugees traveling to nearby valleys in search of water for drinking and domestic purposes. The water from the valleys is, however, not suitable for consumption. Refugees in the camp told Radio Dabanga that the water was contaminated by both human and animal waste and carcasses leading to the spread of waterborne diseases, especially among children. • Food shortage in eastern Chad camp | (Radio Dabanga [Eastern Chad], August 22, 2012) 537 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad’s Gaga camp have not received their food rations since last June, a sheikh in the camp told Radio Dabanga on Monday. Sheikh Mohammed Ismail said, “The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has asked the veteran refugees in the camp to share their food rations with the new arrivals until August, which should have been the next date for replenishing the food stocks.” However, the refugees were surprised when the UNHCR asked them to prolong that initiative until October. The decision was therefore vehemently rejected by the refugees. Sheikh Mohammed Ismail added, “The new arrivals were registered as refugees and must receive food on showing their food ration cards.” • Shortages in Chad camps for Darfuri refugees | (Radio Dabanga. Eastern Chad [Farchana/Treguine camps], 26 November 26, 2013) The Farchana refugee camp in eastern Chad is suffering from a severe shortage of medicines and medical staff. Mohamed Dafallah, the head of the camp, told Radio Dabanga that people being ill have to queue from the early morning until the evening to see the doctor at the camp health centre. “There is only one doctor for the population of the camp totalling more than 26,000 refugees. The suffering of the patients extends beyond seeing a doctor because they often do not get the medication prescribed as their conditions do not allow them to buy it at the pharmacy due to the high medicine prices.” Treguine refugee camp The Sudanese refugees of the Treguine camp in eastern Chad have renewed their demands to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the humanitarian organisations working in the field of water to provide them with potable water. Ali Yagoub, the head of the camp, told Radio Dabanga that until now they have been getting their water supply from traditional wells, due to the collapse of the only water well in the camp a year ago. The water from the traditional wells is unsafe for drinking. Nothing is Changing The problems reported earlier in the now long history of Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad are all too characteristic, despite up-beat notes from various UN organizations. The consensus among those in the humanitarian community is that in many ways conditions are deteriorating; and while stable compared with Darfur, violence in eastern Chad is a chronic problem for the refugees, if not on the same scale as was reported by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in 2005, 2006. The desperate privation experienced by Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad continues to this day; herewith a further but still only partial culling of articles from Radio Dabanga (more dispatches appear in APPENDIX B). The lack of remotely adequate food supplies is only the most conspicuous issues facing Darfur refugees: • Homes devoured by flames in Darfur, eastern Chad | February 1, 2017 | ASSALAYA / GIREIDA / GOZ AMER | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/homes-devoured-by-flames-in-darfur-eastern-chad On Saturday, four Darfuri families in Goz Amer refugee camp in eastern Chad lost their houses because of a fire. El Zein Mohamed, correspondent for Radio Dabanga in eastern Chad reported that the cause of the fire is still unknown. [Camp materials are notoriously flimsy and subject to rapid degradation in the harsh climate of eastern Chad; arson is also a factor in many camp fires–ER] In 2006, the UN refugee agency UNHCR moved more than 3,000 Chadian refugees from the Chad-Sudan border to two new refugee camps, Um Shalaya and Mukjar, in what was then West Darfur. In December 2013, Radio Dabanga reported that the 8,000 Chadian refugees in Um Shalaya refused to return to Chad, citing the lack of security, stability, services, and development as reasons. Their status as refugees in Sudan would officially end in January 2014. • Darfuri refugees in Chad concerned about food rations, striking teachers | Radio Dabanga | November 17, 2016 | DJABAL REFUGEE CAMP | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/darfuri-refugees-in-chad-concerned-about-food-rations-striking-teachers The residents of the Djabal refugee camp in eastern Chad have voiced concern about new UN World Food Programme (WPF) food distribution plans. The camp’s school teachers embarked on a strike on Sunday, in protest against the delayed payment of their salaries. In a meeting with WFP representatives on Wednesday morning, camp leaders rejected the proposal of the UN food agency to received their food rations through coupons, with which they will be able to purchase food directly from traders in the area. “The WFP representatives said that it has become difficult to import food,” Radio Dabanga’s correspondent in eastern Chad reported. The camp elders based their rejection on the inability of merchants to cover the food needs of the 27,000 Djabal camp refugees. “The lorries transporting basic goods face many challenges in reaching the camp and its neighbouring towns during the rainy season.” The correspondent added that the school teachers in the refugee camp embarked on a strike on Sunday, in protest against the delayed payment of their salaries. “They have not received their salary of October so far,” he explained.” The students’ parents have expressed their concerns about their children’s classes, and urged the organisation responsible for education in the camp to pay the teachers as soon as possible. The loss of educational opportunities for countless Darfuri refugees and displaced children has received far too little attention–particularly given the length of time the Darfur genocide has raged–ER] • 35,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad in dire need | Radio Dabanga | May 4, 2016 | GOZ AMER CAMP | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/35-000-sudanese-refugees-in-chad-in-dire-need The Sudanese refugees in Goz Amer camp in eastern Chad complain of a severe shortage of humanitarian aid, health services, and food. Speaking to Radio Dabanga on Tuesday, a number of refugees from the camp said that the health facilities of the camp, which accommodates more than 35,000 refugees, lack medicines and medical professionals to perform routine check-ups. They say that the refugees are forced to purchase medicines external pharmacies for high prices. They also complain that the monthly food rations have decreased, and of a shortage of drinking water. Repatriation In September 2015, the Sudanese Commissioner for Refugees’ Affairs, Hamad El Jezouli, announced the signing of a tripartite agreement between the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), Sudan, and Chad to repatriate 300,000 Sudanese refugees and some 8,500 Chadian refugees to their respective countries within the framework of the voluntary repatriation programme. However, the leaders of the refugees reject the repatriation programme. “The implementation of a repatriation programme requires a secure situation, based on a comprehensive peace agreement for the entire Sudan, as well as the provision of adequate services and infrastructure,” a refugee leader told Radio Dabanga following the announcement. “Further, the new settlers who have taken over our lands are to be evacuated and the refugees have to be compensated, individually and collectively.” • Fire, hospital fees affect Darfuri refugees | February 28, 2016 | EASTERN CHAD CAMPS | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/fire-hospital-fees-affect-darfuri-refugees Donors from the USA have visited one of the refugee camps in eastern Chad, where Sudanese refugees report they have to pay a fee in the health centre to receive treatment. A large fire in another camp in eastern Chad has destroyed 30 homes, including food and belongings of the camp residents on Friday. A Radio Dabanga correspondent Dabanga reported that the now homeless refugees in Goz Amer camp have little food and no shelter. They asked the humanitarian organisations that are active in the area to help them. Hospitals fees Sudanese refugees in Jebel camp have complained about the fees for hospital patients that have been imposed by the Chadian authorities, in addition to the soaring prices of medicines in pharmacies. The same correspondent said that the fee amounts to 40 Chadian Riyals, the equivalent of SDG5, on patients in health centres. “The centre runs short of medicines, prompting patients to buy drugs from pharmacies in Goz Beida, which is two kilometres away from Jebel. The majority of refugees cannot afford these medicines, however.” US visit A delegation of donors from the USA visited Jebel camp to assess the humanitarian situation last week. “The Sudanese refugees explained to the delegates that the humanitarian situation in the camp is disastrous because the agricultural season largely failed last year,” the correspondent explained. They complained that the World Food Programme om the camp has classified the refugees into four categories for receiving aid. “This classification has kept the majority of refugees out from the monthly support.” The refugees requested the reconsideration of the classification and the provision of more food in the camp. In the past, refugees have complained about the late or suspended distribution of food by aid agencies. According to the UNHCR in 2015, more than 360,000 Sudanese live in at least 12 refugee camps in eastern Chad. A week ago, an Independent Member of Parliament of Karnoi, Um Baru and El Tina localities, in North Darfur, reported the unprecedented large influx of more than 27,000 Darfuri refugees from Chad to Um Baru since 16 February. About 24,000 Sudanese already returned in December last year, mainly because of the Chadian government ultimatum for Sudanese refugees to either integrate into the camps or to return to Sudan. Aid agencies’ food ration cuts have affected daily life in the eastern Chadian camps and services are limited. Measures by the Chadian government push the refugees to become more self-sufficient, integrate in Chad, or return to Darfur. [Recent years have seen tremendous suffering and privation and destruction among the Darfuri refugee population in eastern Chad–see APPENDIX B for dispatches going back several years—ER] Given the acute shortage of food, especially during Ramadan, perhaps the most poignant reminder of the plight, and hope, of both Darfuri refugees and IDPs was reported only by Radio Dabanga in July 2015, using a figure of 400,000 for the number of Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad—a figure that may well have been—and may remain—more accurate than the figures promulgated by the UNHCR: • Eid El Fitr: messages from Sudanese refugees and displaced | Radio Dabanga | July 17, 2015 | Chad / Darfur | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/eid-al-fitr-messages-from-sudanese-refugees-and-displaced Sudanese living in camps for refugees in eastern Chad and displaced persons in Darfur send out their messages and wishes on occasion of Eid El Fitr that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Refugees in eastern Chad hope Darfur will be “freed from violence and other heinous crimes,” and that the region will see stability again as other “Muslim countries” do. Zein Mohamed Ahmed, an activist living in camp Djabal, said refugees still remember celebrating Eid El Fitr in their own country and hope they are able to do that again soon. He said the 400,000 Sudanese refugees living in 13 camps in eastern Chad, face daily hardships due to the bad humanitarian conditions in these sites. That the international community is unwilling to do more to honor and sustain the hopes of these people is a grim extension of the indifference shown to the more than 2.7 million people who remain internally displaced in Darfur itself. APPENDIX A: Figures for Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad 2010 and prior: A suspiciously static figure of 262,000 Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad was used by UNCHR and other UN organizations in 2010 and earlier, going back to the initial years of the genocidal onslaught. 2011 May 13, 2011 Amnesty International: Annual Report 2011 – Chad | http://www.refworld.org/docid/4dce15779.html The security situation remained volatile in the east. More than 262,000 Sudanese refugees from Darfur were living in 12 refugee camps… In May, at least 5,000 new refugees arrived following fighting in Darfur. 2012 “UNHCR confirms no refugees have returned to Darfur from Chad” | Radio Dabanga | April 2, 2012 | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/unhcr-confirms-no-refugees-have-returned-to-darfur-from-chad The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has confirmed that no refugees repatriated to Darfur from Chad, as suggested by the New York Times. UNHCR Chad representative Jean Bosco spoke to Radio Dabanga [The New York Times dispatch from Nyuru, West Darfur was a journalistic travesty, grossly misrepresenting conditions in Darfur and eastern Chad | see http://wp.me/s45rOG-7553 ] We are happy to interview you today at Radio Dabanga. Firstly, we would like to know: How many Sudanese are registered as refugees in Chad? “For the time being we have 282,743.” Did any voluntary repatriation take place ever? “So far no repatriation took place from the Sudanese refugee camps in Chad.” In the last year, 2012, did there happen any repatriation? “No, last year, nobody repatriated from the refugee camps.” 2013 “Submission by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Compilation Report – Universal Periodic Review: CHAD,” March 2013: This UNHCR report offers a figure of 311,000 Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad | | http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/514ac48c2.pdf Notably, this figure could not take account of the large “surge” in refugees reported by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) the following month; MSF reported from Tissi, eastern Chad (April 26, 2013): “Violent clashes in Sudan’s Darfur region have driven approximately 50,000 people across the border into southeastern Chad since early March [2013].” (https://www.msfindia.in/chad-urgent-need-aid-50000-displaced-darfur-violence/) 330,000 Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad was the consensus figure in 2013 after the violence in Darfur was fully account for. 2015 At a link now dead, UNHCR gave a figure of 380,000 Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad [Dead link: http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e45c226.html ] See for a discussion of this figure, see my account of a year ago: “How Many Refugees in Chad?” August 9, 2016 | http://sudanreeves.org/2016/08/09/how-many-refugees-in-chad-august-2016/ 2016 Email communication between this writer and UNHCR officials in Chad (April 29 – 30, 2016) yielded a UNHCR assertion that there were 302,000 Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad. 2017 Sudan Tribune reports in a June 2, 2017 dispatch that “More than 350,000 Sudanese refugees from Darfur region are officially registered in Chad” | http://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article62624/. The UN continues to use the figures in the range of 318,473; see for example, “Sudan: Darfur Overview,” July 1, 2017 | http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Darfur_Humanitarian_Overview_A3_01_Jul_2017.pdf/. Given past UN misrepresentations of figures for Darfuri displaced persons and refugees—always figures that must be corrected upwards—theirs must be regarded as a minimum number for Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad, with the possibility that the actual number is very considerably higher. This is especially true given typical registration methods used by UNHCR, UN World Food Program, and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs—and past tendentious misrepresentations from senior officials such as Georg Charpentier: see in particular “How many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are there in Darfur?” Dissent Magazine, April 28, 2011 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-Bq/. APPENDIX B: Dispatches from Radio Dabanga concerning conditions for Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad • Food rations for Darfuri refugees in Chad “may be cut next year’\” | Radio Dabanga | August 2, 2015 | EASTERN CHAD | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/food-rations-for-darfuri-refugees-in-chad-may-be-cut-next-year Darfuris living in the 14 refugee camps in eastern Chad will probably not receive food rations in 2016. Representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told leaders of the refugee camps last week that the distribution of the monthly food rations may end in January, because of a lack of funds. A Radio Dabanga correspondent in Djabal refugee camp reported that the camp leaders were told to prepare the people early for the expected halt in distribution. He said that the refugees are already living in a difficult situation, as the rations were reduced last year. “A large number of children left school this year because of these ration cuts, as they had to search for work to provide some extra income,” he explained. “As many children work with their parents on farms, they are not able to return to the camp to go to school.” • Food delayed in Bredjing Camp for Darfur in East Chad | Radio Dabanga | June 19, 2015 | BREJING | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/food-delayed-in-bredjing-camp-for-darfur-in-east-chad The Sudanese refugees in the camps of eastern Chad are complaining about the reduction of food rations, high food prices and consumer goods at the start of the holy month of Ramadan. The Vice President of Bredjing Camp And Secretary of Women Affairs, Hawa Bakhit Adam, told Radio Dabanga that the food rations provided by UN agencies have been reduced to one plate of grain, approx. 2,5 kg of lentils per month. That is in total less than a pound of food products per person in a month, She said, there is also a delay in food rations distribution dates. The international NGOs and UN have adopted a policy to make the semi permanent refugee population less dependent from food aid. The organizations do also face funding constraints. Many men are working or living outside the camps and working in goldmines or elsewhere. • Sudan, Chad agree on voluntary return for refugees | Radio Dabanga | June 1, 2017 | KHARTOUM | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/sudan-chad-agree-on-voluntary-return-for-refugees The Governments of Sudan and Chad have signed three bilateral agreements for the voluntary return of refugees from the two countries. Refugees refuse Speaking to Radio Dabanga following a visit by a delegation from the US Embassy in Sudan to the Um Shalaya refugee camp in Azum in April this year, the head of the camp said that the refugees reject voluntary return to Chad due to a lack of security and development in the areas of their origin. People in eastern Chad fled their villages in 2005 and 2006, after Darfuri militiamen intruded into the region, following the Darfuri population fleeing to Chad. The militiamen began to attack the local population, and the attacks soon became common. Thousands of Chadians sought refuge in Darfur. [All too often camp leaders are simply left out of deliberations about the future of Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad–ER] • Food distribution delayed for Darfuri refugees in Chad camp | Radio Dabanga | March 16, 2014 | CHAD / GAGA CAMP https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/food-distribution-delayed-for-darfuri-refugees-in-chad-camp The refugees of Gaga camp in eastern Chad are suffering from a severe shortage of food, owing to the delay of the food rations’ distribution, and the reduction of the rations since early 2014. “The camp residents are facing hunger because of the delay in the distribution of food rations,” Yasin Abdel Karim, an activist at Gaga refugee camp, told Radio Dabanga. “So far we have not received rations in March. This is serious as the food rations provided by the World Food Programme already were reduced since the start of this year. A sack of sorghum is now supposed to feed 12 people instead of four, like last year.” Abdel Karim appealed to “the organisations working in the field of food and the donors to reverse the reduction of the food rations and distribute the aid on time, in order to prevent the dire humanitarian conditions in which we are now living.” Disease kills 21 Darfuri children in Chad | Radio Dabanga | March 30, 2015 | EASTERN CHAD | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/disease-kills-21-darfuri-children-in-chad At least 21 children in the Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad died of a mysterious disease last week. The head of Iridimi refugee camp, near the West Darfur border, told Radio Dabanga that 15 children died of a disease causing fever, vomiting, and breathing difficulties. In Touloum refugee camp, six children died of the same symptoms, camp head Haidar Gardia reported. Both camp leaders requested the UN Refugees agency, UNHCR, to dispatch a medical team to the camps in eastern Chad, and contain the disease “before it kills more children.” • Darfur refugees in Chad destitute | Radio Dabanga | March 19, 2014 | CHAD / KOUNONGOU CAMP | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/darfur-refugees-in-chad-destitute The Sudanese refugees of the Kounongou camp in eastern Chad complain about the reduction of food rations and the prices of medicines. “The World Food Programme reduced the ration three months ago. Now 12 people, instead of four, have to make do with a sack of 50kg per month,” Adam Mohamed, one of the sheikhs of Kounongou camp told Radio Dabanga. “Another problem we are facing is the lack of medicines at the health centre of the camp. The staff prescribes medicines that we have to buy from commercial pharmacies.” The camp sheikh explained that the refugees do not have any source of income to buy food and medicines, calling upon humanitarian organisations to help finding a solution for the crisis. [If there are victims of the Darfur genocide more invisible than the refugees of eastern Chad, Darfuri refugees in Central African Republic must be the only candidates—ER] • Darfuri refugees in CAR and Chad in dire need | Radio Dabanga | February 25, 2014 | BEMBERE / TOULOUM | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/darfuri-refugees-in-car-and-chad-in-dire-need The refugees of the Bembere camp in the Central African Republic (CAR) are living in extremely difficult humanitarian, health, and security conditions. Since relief organisations have left because of the insecurity in the country, the Bembere refugees are suffering from a shortage of food and medicines. Abdel Rahman Ismail, the head of the Bembere camp, told Radio Dabanga that the organisations working in the camp left when the armed conflict erupted in the country. “We have not received aid or food for more than two months. And we cannot leave the camp anymore because of the rampant insecurity.” He demanded via Radio Dabanga for the UNHCR to intervene “as soon as possible,” and provide food and medicines to the camp residents, and move them to another country. Eastern Chad The refugees of the Touloum, Ardemi, and Um Nabag refugee camps in eastern Chad have complained of poor health services at the medical centres of the camps and a shortage of medicines. Speaking to Radio Dabanaga, the head of Touloum camp, Haidar Suleiman Gadria, said that the refugees of Touloum, Ardemi, and Um Nabag camps are suffering from a lack of medicines. They cannot afford to buy medicines from the regular pharmacies. There is also a shortage of health personnel, especially midwives. The work of the national health organisation working in the camps is limited to the camps only. When refugees are transferred to a hospital in Abéché, they find difficulty in registering at the reception, seeing doctors, or receiving treatment. • Sudanese refugees in CAR need aid, food | Radio Dabanga | January 16, 2014 | BEMBERE / TOULOUM | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/sudanese-refugees-in-car-need-aid-food Around 2,200 Sudanese refugees from Darfur at camp Bembere in the Central African Republic (CAR) are living in “extremely difficult humanitarian conditions” after aid organisations left owing to the violence in the country. The sheikh of the Bembere camp for Sudanese refugees in the CAR, Abdel Rahman Ismail, told Radio Dabanga that all the food, health and education organisations have left the camp since the beginning of the incidents in the CAR. He pointed out that they have not received food or health services since a month. He added that all Bembere residents have left the area, leaving behind only the around 2,200 Sudanese refugees. Ismail again appealed via Radio Dabanga to the UN and the humanitarian organisations to move them from the fighting between Muslims and Christians in the CAR. • Sudanese refugees face starvation in Chad camps | Radio Dabanga | January 30, 2014 | CHAD / KOUNONGOU CAMP | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/sudanese-refugees-face-starvation-in-chad-camps Sudanese refugees in the camps of eastern Chad say that their overall situation is deteriorating rapidly after the reduction in food rations, health and educational services, by international relief organisations. Sheikh Eisa Tijani, the head of the Kounongou camp, told Radio Dabanga that international organisations’ decision to reduce the budget since the beginning of this year will lead to starvation. He described the arguments for the reduction as “flimsy.” “They told us that donors have failed to pay and that other conflict zones emerged in the world.” He called the budget cuts “inhumane,” “considering that the world and its institutions are fully aware of the reasons that forced us to flee from our homes. We get the idea that the whole world is fighting us in the same way as Omar Al Bashir.” • Darfur refugees in eastern Chad close to starving | Radio Dabanga | July 23, 2014 | EASTERN CHAD | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/darfur-refugees-in-eastern-chad-close-to-starving Soaring prices and the reduction of food rations have forced a number of Darfuri refugees in the eastern Chad camps to break the fast with bread made of toxic mekheit seeds, and to dig into ant hills in search for food. The refugees in eastern Chad are facing extremely difficult humanitarian conditions, Ali Yagoub, the head of the Treguine refugee camp told Radio Dabanga. “The people in the camps are almost starving, as the current food ration contains a little sugar, vegetable oil, and 15 grams of sorghum per capita a day. Flour, salt, and soap have been cut. Because the people do not find work to earn some income, they are forced to dig into ant hills in search of food, and resort to making bread from the toxic mekheit seeds. The camp head appealed to the World Food Programme to speed up the provision of food. 850 kilocalories a day On 1 July, the heads of the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, urgently appealed for extra funding. In a joint press release, they warned that funding difficulties, compounded by security and logistical problems in some countries, have forced cuts in food rations for nearly 800,000 refugees in Africa. In the press release, the two UN agencies state that the refugees in Chad are facing the severest food cuts. “Some 300,000 refugees in Chad, primarily from Sudan’s Darfur region in the east and from the Central African Republic in the south, are among the worst affected by the cuts. Food distributions there have been slashed by up to 60 percent, leaving refugees with a scant 850 kilocalories per day. In the south of Chad, some refugees are able to grow food on small plots provided by the government. In the arid east, however, that is not an option for most refugees. Nor is it a viable solution for newly arriving refugees.” Generally, the WFP tries to provide 2,100 kilocalories per refugee a day. • Hungry Darfuri refugees eat toxic seeds | Radio Dabanga | July 2, 2014 | EASTERN CHAD | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/hungry-darfuri-refugees-eat-toxic-seeds The Darfuri refugees in the 12 eastern Chad camps are suffering from an acute shortage of food. “The suffering has worsened with the start of the fasting month of Ramadan,” Jamal Daoud, the head of the Bredjing refugee camp told Radio Dabanga. “The World Food Programme (WFP) brought back the food rations to three items only: sorghum, beans, and oil. The amounts were reduced too. We now receive 4 kg of sorghum per capita a month, instead of 12 kg.” • Darfur refugees in Chad’s Farchana camp eating grass | Radio Dabanga | April 29, 2014 | EASTERN CHAD | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/darfur-refugees-in-chad-s-farchana-camp-eating-grass Darfuris in the eastern Chad refugee camps are on the brink of starvation after food rations were reduced in December last year. Darfuri refugees in South Sudan’s Western Bahr El Ghazal state, are also living in poor humanitarian conditions. “The Gaga, Farchana, Treguine, Bredjing, and Touloum refugee camps are witnessing a rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation owing to the reduction of food rations,” Haider Suleiman Gadiria, the head of the Tuloum camp reported to Radio Dabanga. “The World Food Programme reduced the rations of sorghum and sugar for the refugees in eastern Chad camps by 50 percent since December last year. In April this year the distribution of salt and a mixture of soap was stopped.” Grass The head of the Farchana camp, Mohamed Dafallah told Radio Dabanga that the camp population has reached the brink of starvation. “They are now eating grass, and digging in ants’ hills in search of food.” He noted that the reduced food rations are sufficient for one week. “The situation in the camps is nearing a humanitarian disaster.” The camp head demanded from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme to “undo this policy, and provide adequate nutritional support for the refugees.” Food cuts Refugees in Chad face the most severe food cuts of all displaced and refugees in Africa, UNHCR and WFP reported in a joint press release on Tuesday. “Some 300,000 refugees in Chad, primarily from Sudan’s Darfur region in the east and from the Central African Republic in the south, are among the worst affected by the cuts. Food distributions there have been slashed by up to 60 percent, leaving refugees with a scant 850 kilocalories per day. In the south of Chad, some refugees are able to grow food on small plots provided by the government. In the arid east, however, that is not an option for most refugees.” The heads of the WFP and UNHCR stated that funding difficulties, compounded by security and logistical problems in some countries, have forced cuts in food rations for nearly 800,000 refugees in Africa. The cuts may worsen the already unacceptable levels of acute malnutrition, particularly in children. • WFP stops food rations for Gaga refugee camp in Chad: Sheikh | Radio Dabanga January 22, 2014 | CHAD / GAGA CAMP | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/wfp-stops-food-rations-for-gaga-refugee-camp-in-chad-sheikh The refugees of the Gaga refugee camp in eastern Chad will not receive food rations in 2014. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, sheikh Juma reported that the 23,200 Darfuri refugees residing in the camp received reduced food rations from the World Food Programme (WFP) in December and January. Representatives of the WFP told the refugees that there is no budget for food rations for the year 2014. The refugees received rations of sorghum, sugar, beans, and oil, all reduced by 75 percent, in December and by 50 percent in January. These rations, paid from WFP’s 2013 budget, were the last ones for the camp. Sheikh Juma referred to “the widows, the elderly and the weak, who will suffer severely from this problem”, and called on the WFP to resume the distribution of food rations as in the past, “by 100 percent.” • No food for new Darfuri refugees in Chad | Radio Dabanga | February 4, 2014 | TOULOUM camp, eastern Chad | https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/no-food-for-new-darfuri-refugees-in-chad Some 135 families from North Darfur who reached the Touloum refugee camp in eastern Chad in September last year do not have access to food. Ahmed Abakar Shatta, the coordinator of new refugees at the Touloum refugee camp told Radio Dabanga that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Chad National Committee for the Reception of Refugees on Monday distributed sheets, blankets, and mattresses, household utensils, and mosquito nets. The families also received refugee identity cards. However the families, originally from El Sareif Beni Hussein, did not receive food. The coordinator described their situation as “extremely bad”. “They have to go around in the camp begging for food.” He appealed to UNHCR and the Chad National Committee to promptly provide food for the new refugees. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 SUDAN Research, Analysis, and Advocacy

Japan's Prime Minister has called for “a world free of nuclear weapons” at a ceremony to mark the 72nd anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. Shinzo Abe said existing non-proliferation treaties should be strengthened, and pledged Japan would make “utmost efforts for the realisation of eternal world peace". The country was marking the date more than seven decades since the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, which detonated 600 metres above the city, killing 140,000 and effectively ending the Second World War. The event at Peace Memorial Park, near Hiroshima's ground zero, was attended by 50,000 people and representatives from 80 nations and the EU, according to The Japan Times. However, the commemoration has been overshadowed by the escalating threat posed by North Korea. Last month its military tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles with major US cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago within range of attack, though it is unclear if they could be armed with nuclear warheads. "This hell is not a thing of the past," Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said at Sunday's commemoration ceremony. "As long as nuclear weapons exist and policymakers threaten their use, their horror could leap into our present at any moment. “You could find yourself suffering their cruelty." If a nuclear bomb was dropped today it could cause greater damage than the Hiroshima bomb combined with the one dropped on the city of Nagasaki three days later, he added. Japan is the only country to have come under nuclear attack, and uses the "never again" mantra to come to terms with the impact of the two bombs dropped in August 1945. Article 5 of the country’s constitution renounces war, and states that “land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained". But when asked whether Japan should acquire the means to strike North Korean missile sites, Mr Abe did not reject the idea of a pre-emptive strike. Japan currently relies on allies such as the US for nuclear deterrence, and refused to ratify or negotiate a landmark UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons last month. When Barack Obama became the first US President to visit Hiroshima last year, Donald Trump criticised his call for an end to nuclear weapons and suggested he bring up Japan’s 1941 attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbour instead. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 Independent

Main impetus behind pope's visit is to help Myanmar make peace with the Roghinyas, says senior clergyman A priest hears confession in Shan State, Myanmar. There are about 700,000 Catholics in the Buddhist-majority country. (ucanews.com photo) Pope Francis will focus on trying to improve the troubles of about a million ethnic Muslim Rohingyas when he visits Myanmar, in the first ever papal visit to the country, in the last week of November after being personally invited by President Htin Kyaw. News of his visit, which has leaked out of the Vatican but is not expected to be officially announced until next month, has already drawn the ire of hard-line Buddhist groups who have fanned sectarian violence and protest, especially against the Rohingya and other Muslims, over the past five years. "No, no, don't come," "don't visit if you come to Myanmar for Bengalis," and "we oppose the visit if he used the word Rohingya," several Buddhists posted on their Facebook pages. Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam of Banmaw in Kachin State said a visit by Pope Francis to Myanmar is most likely, although he said he had not officially been informed. "The Catholic bishops invited Pope Francis before the 500th anniversary of Catholicism in Myanmar in late 2014," Bishop Gam told ucanews.com. "Some improvements have occurred such as diplomatic relations between Myanmar and Vatican plus the appointment of an apostolic nuncio," he said. The pope's relatively last minute program change will see the leader of the world's 1 billion Catholics cancel a planned trip to India after prevarication by that nation's strongly pro-Hindu government. The proposed visit to Myanmar will precede the pope visiting neighboring Bangladesh. Senior Catholic sources told ucanews.com that Pope Francis arrives in Myanmar on Nov. 27 for four nights. According to information shared with top clergy only two weeks ago, the pope is expected to first visit the jungle capital Naypyidaw where he will meet President Htin Kyaw and the country's de-facto leader, State Counsellor and Foreign Affairs Minister Aung San Suu Kyi. It is expected that he will hold at least two Masses before heading to the country's largest city and business capital Yangon for a large open air Mass. It is also expected that he will visit and say Mass at the St. Joseph's Catholic Major Seminary in Yangon. There are about 700,000 Catholics in Myanmar, served by 16 bishops, more than 700 priests and 2,200 religious. Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi meets Pope Francis during a private audience on May 4 at the Vatican. During the visit, the Vatican and Myanmar formally agreed to establish full diplomatic relations. (Photo by Tony Gentile/AFP) The Rohingya Most of the Rohingya population in Myanmar's Rakhine State have been denied citizenship. About 120,000 of them are trapped in internally displace people (IDP) camps near the state capital Sittwe. A further 400,000 live in the state's north which is currently under martial law. Press are forbidden to travel to the region but reports of atrocities by the military, including rape, murder and burning villages has leaked out over the past year. Such outrages have further fueled home grown terrorists who have emerged out of desperation. More than 170,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia — many on risky boats — in the last five years according to the United Nations. While Pope Francis will not visit Rakhine State he will fly over it on the way to Bangladesh, church sources said, and probably use that time to make some sort of statement. It's a tactic the Argentine pontiff, the first ever from outside Europe, has used before. "The main impetus behind the pope visiting is to try and help the government make peace with the Roghinyas and improve their plight," said one senior clergyman with knowledge of the pope's visit but not authorized to speak about it. "When the pope received the invitation from President Htin Kyaw, we understand he jumped at it," the source said. Observers believe that the unexpected move by Myanmar's civilian-led government to invite the pope, a relentless advocate for refugees, has been driven by its desire to skirt the powerful military with which it effectively shares power. Under Myanmar's 2008 constitution the military retains the crucial defense, border and home affairs portfolios as well as 25 percent of both houses of parliament. Aung San Suu Kyi has been widely and increasingly criticized by democratic governments around the world for her hands-off attitude to the Rohingya crisis and her National League for Democracy's insistence on calling the group not by their self-determined name but as Bengalis. "[The pope's visit] may be a way for her to change the perception that she is ignoring the plight of the Rohingya, internationally," one observer noted. Nyan Win, a central executive committee member of the National League for Democracy, would not confirm the visit but said the government would welcome the pope if he visited Myanmar. "There is no religious persecution and freedom of religion prevails in Myanmar, all religions have been living together peacefully so it is welcoming news about pope's visit," Nyan Win told ucanews.com. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ © 2017 ucanews

Pope Francis walks at the end of a canonisation mass for seven new saints in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican in 2016. Source: Reuters/Tony Gentile According to Catholic media outlets, Pope Francis will undertake the first papal visit to Burma (Myanmar) in November, where he will focus on promoting the rights of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim community. While news of the papal visit has not been officially announced, leaks from sources in the Vatican have confirmed a planned historical visit to Burma and Bangladesh, reported the Union of Catholic Asian News on Monday. The Pope reportedly received a personal invite from Burma’s President Htin Kyaw, a decision which has led to an angry backlash among hardline Buddhist and ultranationalist groups on social media. He will visit the capital Naypyidaw to meet with senior government figures before travelling to the country’s largest city Yangon, but will not go to the restive Rakhine State, where most Rohingya live. While Burma and Bangladesh have relatively small Catholic communities, the Pope has long been a vocal critic of the Burmese government for its failure to protect Rohingya Muslims from violence and persecution. Rohingya villagers watch as international media visit Maung Hna Ma village, Buthidaung township, in northern Rakhine state, Burma, on July 14, 2017. Source: Reuters/Simon Lewis In 2015, the Pope called persecution of Rohingya akin to a “war” against Muslims in Burma. More than 75,000 people are said to have fled across the Bangladeshi border since clashes with the military broke out in October 2016, leading to a harsh crackdown by authorities. Earlier this year, he said Rohingya were “peaceful people, and they are our brothers and sisters,” calling for the Burmese regime to let them “live their culture and their Muslim faith.” Pope Francis also created the first-ever Catholic cardinals for Burma and Bangladesh. “The Catholic bishops invited Pope Francis before the 500th anniversary of Catholicism in Myanmar in late 2014,” Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam told UCA News. There are roughly 700,000 Catholics in Burma. “Some improvements have occurred such as diplomatic relations between Burma and Vatican plus the appointment of an apostolic nuncio.” The Vatican established full diplomatic relations with Burma in May, after the Pope met with the country’s State Counsellor and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Crux’s correspondent in the Vatican first reported the possibility of Francis cancelling his planned trip to India in place of a visit to Burma and Bangladesh late last month. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 Asian Corespondent

Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi attends an event marking the 70th anniversary of Martyrs' Day at the Martyrs' Mausoleum dedicated to the fallen independence heroes, including her father General Aung San, in Yangon, Myanmar July 19, 2017. Picture taken on July 19, 2017. Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has turned to state-run media inherited from the former junta in an overhaul of her PR approach, after warnings her agenda is being swamped by crises and amid fears among rights groups of eroding free speech. The Nobel laureate came to power last year amid a transition from full military rule that has propelled her from political prisoner to the elected leader. But where she once courted the foreign press in her campaign against the generals and their state-run mouthpieces, she now keeps independent media at arm's length. Western diplomats and her own advisers have warned she has failed to control her administration's narrative. In a talk with villagers in central Myanmar on Monday, transmitted on state broadcaster Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV), she exhorted the public to follow official statements on the government's activities. “I would like to say: read the newspapers and listen to the news on MRTV released by the government," she said, referring specifically to official reports about the government's response to the crisis in western Rakhine state. Rohingya Muslim militants killed nine police in attacks there in October, sparking a brutal military response that the United Nations says may have included crimes against humanity. Official outlets, including a social media account run out of Suu Kyi's office, published running denials during the conflict, quickly dismissing reports in independent media of alleged government atrocities as "fake news" and "fake rape". Suu Kyi has resisted calls, including from the United States, to allow U.N. human rights investigators into the country. "You will always hear (on official broadcasts) what the government is doing for peace and stability in Rakhine," she said on Monday. "We take a lot of care as the whole world is interested in this." A so-called communications unit within Suu Kyi's office has also since late June been putting out regular releases celebrating official acts. One missive said "hard work, patience and tough decisions" were going into managing the economy, and blamed a slowdown in growth and foreign investment since Suu Kyi took office on past governments. Government newspapers that used to denounce then opposition leader Suu Kyi now run her picture on their front pages nearly every day. Myint Kyaw, a member of the Myanmar Press Council, said Suu Kyi seems to favor state-run media, which he described as "still at the propaganda stage". Suu Kyi has not given interviews to local media and breezes past reporters attempting to pitch questions, including on a visit to a village in central Myanmar that Reuters joined on Monday, the second recent press tour arranged by her officials. 'AVOIDING THE MEDIA' Foreign media were invited to tour the conflict area in Rakhine last month, but were closely watched by security forces and only allocated time to visit one village where locals alleged rights abuses. On Monday, members of Suu Kyi's security detail – dressed in dark suits and sunglasses - physically prevented reporters from asking questions. Suu Kyi did not respond when asked for comment by a Reuters reporter. Suu Kyi’s spokesman, Zaw Htay, said in a message on Tuesday he was unavailable to comment. Press freedom advocates fear that gains in freedom of speech in Myanmar are being eroded, with at least five media workers detained in recent weeks. Bidhayak Das, an Indian journalist and academic who has trained reporters in Myanmar, said Suu Kyi was in danger of jeopardizing her support among the fast-growing independent media that has emerged since censorship was lifted in 2012. "Instead of building on it by having regular interface with media and clarifying doubts about her government’s position or her opinions on issues ranging from the peace process to the Rakhine communal strife to the problems of the faltering economy, she has chosen to avoid the media." __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 Reuters

CAR was pitched into a war between Muslim and Christian armed groups in 2013 [File: Baz Ratner/Reuters] The UN is calling for more peacekeeping forces to be deployed in the Central African Republic amid renewed clashes. Renewed clashes in the Central African Republic (CAR) are early warning signs of genocide, the UN aid chief said on Monday, calling for more troops and police to beef up the UN peacekeeping mission in the strife-torn country. Some 180,000 people have been driven from their homes this year, bringing the total number of displaced in the CAR to well over half a million, said Stephen O'Brien. "The early warning signs of genocide are there," O'Brien told a UN meeting following his recent trip to the CAR and the Democratic Republic of Congo. "We must act now, not pare down the UN's effort, and pray we don't live to regret it." O'Brien said it was time to authorise an increase in troops and police serving in the MINUSCA peacekeeping force to enable the mission to "deliver on its critical protection mandate". UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix last week said he was considering sending a request to the UN Security Council for more troops for MINUSCA. One of the world's poorest nations, the CAR was pitched into a war between Muslim and Christian armed groups in 2013. It was unleashed when President Francois Bozize was overthrown by a coalition of Muslim-majority rebel groups called the Seleka. They, in turn, were overthrown by a military intervention led by former colonial ruler, France. Those events sparked some of the bloodiest sectarian violence in the country's history as mainly Christian armed groups sought revenge. Christians, who account for about 80 percent of the population, organised vigilante units dubbed "Anti-balaka", a reference to the machetes used by the Muslim rebels. The United Nations has 12,350 troops and police on the ground to help protect civilians and support the government of President Faustin-Archange Touadera, who was elected last year. While Touadera's government remains in control in Bangui, its authority is weak outside of the capital where former Seleka groups and Anti-balaka fighters have clashed. Nine MINUSCA peacekeepers have been killed this year, raising alarm that the country is sliding back to the bloodletting that exploded in 2013 following the overthrow of Bozize. O'Brien said he was horrified by a visit he made to a Catholic church in the southern town of Bangassou where 2,000 Muslims took refuge three months ago, surrounded by Anti-balaka Christian fighters who are threatening to kill them. "The risks are extremely high, and we must focus properly on whether to relocate them to another site or not," he said. Half of the country's population, or 2.4 million people, are in need of food aid to survive, the largest population in need per capita, he said. The country is also home to half a million refugees. "The risk of a relapse into another large-scale humanitarian crisis is imminent," said O'Brien. The UN has received only 24 percent of the $497m it has requested in a humanitarian appeal for the CAR. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 Reuters

They have been described as the world’s most persecuted minority — rejected by the place they call home and unwanted elsewhere, the Rohingyas of Myanmar continue to suffer at the hand of Myanmar’s executive forces. An estimated 1.1 million Rohingyas reside in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, where 78 percent people live under the poverty line according to World Bank. The 2014 census, the first to be conducted in Myanmar after 30 years, excluded Rohingya from the list of 135 officially recognized ethnic groups. At least 87,000 Rohingyas have been displaced since a military crackdown in the western Rakhine state in early October 2016.The crackdown was in response to attacks on Burmese border posts in October 2016 by unidentified insurgents. Many human rights organisations have condemned the actions of the Myanmar army and police force. Following the military crackdown in 2016, dozens of people were killed and many were arrested. As the crackdown continued, the casualties increased. Arbitrary arrest, extrajudicial killings, gang rapes, brutalities against civilians, and looting were carried out. As of November 2016, Myanmar had yet to allow the media and human rights groups to enter the persecuted areas. Hence, the exact figures of civilian casualties remain unknown. The Rakhine State is termed an ‘information black hole’ by media outlets. The Rohingya crisis can essentially be identified as a political issue. The ultimate solution to this lies in granting full time citizenship to the minority. However, this crisis deserves more time in the spotlight. Aung San Suu Kyi, de facto leader of Myanmar and a Nobel Prize winner, has continued her leadership in silence with regards to the Rohingya crisis. Despite being a peace prize laureate, Kyi has repeatedly shown indifference to the plight of Rohingya and has addressed matters regarding their situation with ambiguity. Her perceived indifference and unwillingness to address this heart wrenching issue raises questions about her commitment to bring peace. If she is to remain complicit in such crimes against Rohingya, it is time for her to give up her peace award. Unfortunately, the United Nations and other influential humanitarian organisations have done nothing more than issuing statements. Selective displays of humanity by international community are condemnable. As for Myanmar’s powerful neighbors — China and India — Myanmar is nothing but another untapped resource waiting to be explored. Their lack of involvement screams how humanitarian intervention is reserved for strategic usefulness and not to protect the most persecuted minority. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 DailyTimes

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Prime Minister Office P.O. Box 1031 Addis Ababa Fax: 552020 Tel: 551059 Date: 7 August 2017 Dear PM Haile Mariam Desalegn, We are so happy to address our concerns about some appalling conditions undertaken against Gambella’s people interest. Our organisation is so kind to present these issues to your attention and the government you are serving to take some measures for wellbeing of Gambella’s people. As your government is severing the interest of its citizens, we have received some grievances from our people contrary to national interest and human right. Their citizenship and rights have been violated in various occasions and they have been submitting petitions to the government many time, but theirs petitions had been neglected. In respond to their voice, Ethiopian Anywaa Development Foundation Inc which base it Offices in USA and Australia decided to write this letter requesting your leadership to take appropriate correctives measures on the following issues: Proliferation of Refugees' camps in the entire region Our organisation had written a letter on this issue to UN general secretariat and gave a copy to Federal Democratic republic of Ethiopia early this year. We understood that the number of refugees which almost equal to the number of citizens had been settled in the region. Base on the current update, the refugees’ population is 366,341 verses estimated 409,000 population of inhabitants of the region. Ethiopia as a Federal Democratic Republic government, it must put its people interest first then the interest of refugees despite the international responsibility of hosting refugees. No citizen no refugee. It’s a citizen who takes care of refugee. In a situation where refugees jeopardise the interest of hosting citizens, it’s a responsibility and obligation of the national government to act in the best interest of its citizens. Having many camps everywhere in the region had done and does harm the community. The number of camps should be limited to not more than two and close the rest or relocate them to another region. Refugees competition with locals over resources As you can observe from the above, the population of refugees will overwhelm the population of the region inhabitants shortly if the current crisis in South Sudan continue. Now the refugees had posted serious problem to the locals competing for resources and infrastructures. There are no enough social services or institutions available to meet the needs of the locals and refugees. The result is competition over resources which could bring conflict between the locals and refugees as we had witnessed in past. As we’re writing this petition, we have thousands of citizens displaced from Jikaw and part of Itang districts who became Internal displace people in their own country because of refugees’ influx in the region. They are demanding land from locals which result into conflict that leave citizens in despair for the last two years. Zenu Jemal speech watering down the refugees' problem to locals Ato Zenu Jemal had made speech in Nyuenyyiel refugees’ camp in Jikaw district promising extraordinary hospitality and services to South Sudanese’s refugees and passed a message to hosting community of the region that Refugees are not a problem nor threat to their lives. Ato Zenu might has made his speech reflecting his personal interest and not the interest of Gambella people. It is undeniable that South Sudan’s Refugees had made serious damage to the culture, economy, environment and lives of Gambella’s people. Our children have been abducted, we have lost hundreds of lives, our services have been destroyed by these refugees even though currently it had been blamed on Murle. We know that some attacks were done by refugees directly or indirectly. The best evidence is the imprisonment of an informer by Gambella’s regional governor Mr. Gatluak Tut for his reporting an attack in Jor district were carried out by Nuers from Pinyudo refugees’ camp basing his fact on eye witness account. The fact was a dead body of the attackers left behind after the attack. Governor Gatluak Tut prisoned this individual to conceal the evident. Therefore, we would like to denounce Ato Zenu Jemal speech as baseless assertion or negligent. As he is a citizen of Ethiopia he should considered the wellbeing of citizens first rather than denying the clear fact that refugees are a problem to citizens in the region. Appointing Refugees on local government positions The biggest mistake made in Gambella region is the appointment of leaders by Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. This practice had open a loophole of giving chance of leadership to foreigners. Foreigners get into the system they have abused the system and started employing foreigners/refugees in regional government departments with fake educational qualification and identification cards. We haven’t seen proper neutralisation constitution nor a process of neutralising refugees to obtain Ethiopian citizenship. However, the foreigners who had infiltrated into the government has abused national constitution, deceiving and violating Gambella people Democratic rights and gained a power to take most of citizens positions in the regional government as well as in civic organisation leaving young Ethiopians graduating from national universities and colleges jobless. We as citizens would denounce such kind of practices request the government to give power to citizens rather than foreigners with double stands. Illegal provision of National ID and passport to Refugees As result of above negligence and irresponsibility of giving power to foreigners it became simple for a refugee to obtain Ethiopia national Identification Card as well as passport and compete for scarcely available opportunities to the citizens. This has caused resentment to the locals and it could spark a conflict as we will mention later in the following paragraph. There must be a system in place to control refugees’ movement and their interaction with the community as we do observe in many countries hosting refugees in Africa. Restriction of Refugees movement in the region South Sudan refugees have been allowed to roam in the region as they want without any restriction. If we give them unrestricted freedom to everything and they don’t do any harm to locals, it would have been traffic caring and hospitality to our refugees and a fame to the nation. However, their movement has paid a loss of lives and properties to the locals. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia hasn’t considered the lives of Gambella people so worthy as of human being. We have witnessed carnage of innocent citizens by refugees who are left loose in the town. Last year citizens who were working in the camp were killed, Gambella’s prison was stormed and prisoners were killed. And surprisingly, the refugees had defied the sovereignty of the national by lowering the national flag which was in front of the prison and put up South Sudan flag instate claiming that Gambella is one of the states of South Sudan. While our community was furious with the action of refugees, the government had taken lukewarm stand which had damaged the sole of citizens who are proud of their beloved country and don’t to see their national flag being abused in broad daylight. To stop refugees from misbehaving and committing crimes like these mentioned above, it is better to restrict the movement and control their activities which do harm to the locals. We believe the citizens’ lives matter more than that of refugees. Relocation of refugees to share the burden with other regions As you know Gambella has been hosting South Sudanese’s refugees since 1956. The people of Gambella mainly the Anywaa Community has been a prime victim and more devastated community in the region who had suffered untold atrocities inflicted on them by the influx of refugees. Anywaa community has been suffering in many ways, culturally, environmentally, ecologically, national resources depletion and loss of lives in the hand of refugees. To alleviate the intense of suffering which Gambella people have been suffering with for the last 62 years, it would be better to share the burden with other regions rather than putting heavy burden on people of Gambella. Oromo’s land demand in Gambella region Recently there were number of delegates from Oromia region who went to Gambella regional state demanding a land to extend their boarder further inside the territory of Gambella region ignoring the existing national regional border. This event had taken place under the watch of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and it had kept a low profile without telling Oromia regional government to stop what is illegal. This is a provocation of Gambella regional state government as well as its people. Suck kind of intimidation might lead to a conflict if the Federal government won’t take appropriate action. Oromo region is not a new region which had border with Gambella region. Both have a long history of co-existence and they knew what land below to who precisely. It shocked our community when they show Oromo coming and demanding land while we have already given them enough land (Bure & Kelem zones). We do request your authority to instruct Oromo regional state to respect the long existing relationship and border and stop aggressive actions against Gambella’s people. Dear Prime minister, Base on the above explanation, it won’t be difficult for you and Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia government to understand the situation we are in and act appropriately. Regarding refugees’ issues, our people had told government in several occasions how they were/are suffering in the hand of refugees, but no one has listen to their grievances. Let’s this time be different to give a decision to resolve refugees’ problem in Gambella region. Therefore, at this juncture, we are requesting your government to consider all issues we have raised up above and take necessary action in answering our petition on behalf of Gambella people. Respectfully, Ochalla Ojulu Copy to: United Nation Higher Commission for Refugees(UNHCR) Case Postale 2500 CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt Suisse Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Palais Wilson. 52 rue des Pâquis. CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland U.S. State Department Bureau of African Affairs Harry S. Truman Building 2201 C. Street, NW Washington DC, U.S.A 20520 Tel: (202) 647-6575 UK Prime Minister Office 10 Downing Street London SW1A 2AA Email: privateoffice@no10.x.gsi.gov.uk Africa Union Commission Bureau of the Chairperson PO BOX 3243 Roosevelt Street W21K19 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Tel: +251-115- 51-77- 00 Fax: +251-51- 78-44 Contact e-mail: chairperson@africa-union.org European Union Head Quarters Rue de Treves, 59- 61 1040 Brussels, Belgium Genocide Watch 1405 Cola Drive McLean, VA 22101 Telephone: +1-(202)- 643-1405 Email: genwatchinterns@gmail.com ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 EADF Inc

Children from Taung Bazar Rohingya village look on as a border guard stands in the background. (Photo: May Wong) She stood silently in a crowd of more than 20 people, as she cradled her two-year-old child on her hip. But as Sarbeda heard others relay their stories to foreign journalists of how their husbands or sons have been arrested, she started to weep. That is when I asked why she was crying. Her experience of how her 14-year-old son was arrested brought a flood of tears. Sarbeda said the boy was working in the fields when security personnel arrested him, suspecting him of being involved in alleged terrorist activities. An accusation she vehemently denies, saying “they took him without any question. My son is so young.” Buthidaung and Maungdaw are home to a majority of some one million Rohingyas, deemed as illegal immigrants by Myanmar. (Photo: May Wong) This mother was just one of many who came forward with fear, helplessness and anxiety written all over her face. She has no idea how he is doing now or when he might be released.Sarbeda’s 14-year-old son is one of at least 10 juveniles arrested alongside more than 400 Rohingyas accused of being involved in violent attacks since Oct 9 last year. One after another, women, many carrying children in their arms, rushed up to the foreign journalists who entered their villages as part of a government-led visit to showcase the latest development on the ground. The five-day arranged visit to several villages in northern Rakhine state was the third such trip organised by the government. But it is the first allowing international journalists into the area after the initial attacks. The aim – to show how the government has nothing to hide and that allegation of abuse and atrocities against the Rohingyas are, according to the authorities, exaggerated. Rohingya calling on journalists to visit their village. (Photo: May Wong) Rakhine Chief Minister Nyi Pu defended the security forces’ actions saying “when we are working on security issues, there are terrorist attacks and conflicts happening so there can be some casualties. "We are not performing genocide. It is very wrong to exaggerate the small casualties.” To a certain extent, it must be said that the Information Ministry official leading the visit accommodated the journalists’ requests of wanting to visit villages off the prescribed list and to speak to any villager without the presence of the authorities. Without the watchful eye of officials, another villager called Lalmuti stood by her father’s grave and told journalists that “my mother said my father was burned to death by the military. They put my father in the house and burned the house and him.” The 23-year-old said “after three months, they took her (mother) for questioning and threw her into jail.” When asked if she’s worried she might get into trouble for sharing her story, Lalmuti simply replied “Why would I be afraid? I am telling the truth.” There were others, however, who didn’t want to be seen speaking to journalists, for fear they may be hauled up for questioning. One pulled me away from earshot of others and related to me how he was beaten and threatened by security forces. Yet another kept looking over his shoulders while describing how insufferable their lives have become, only to quickly disappear into the crowd, waving me away, believing he was Villagers are afraid to step out of their homes. (Photo: May Wong) The journalists had insisted that the heavily-armed security personnel escort us only to the entrance of villages, but some Rohingyas worry about government informants among them. That was not paranoia because soon after, a man among the Rohingya villagers was caught red-handed taking pictures of those speaking to the media and recording the conversations. PALPABLE DISTRESS As journalists track through fields and walk through yet another Rohingya village, a woman slipped a hand-written note to a reporter. That note accused security forces of arbitrary arrests including a 15-year-old boy. What is more damning is that the note said that on the day of Eid al-Fitr, one of the holiest days on the Muslim calendar, border police guards came into the village and brutally raped some women. The distress among the Rohingyas met throughout the visit is palpable. The Oct 9 attacks against three border posts, killing nine officers, sparked a security lockdown in areas of Buthidaung and Maungdaw in northern Rakhine state. The area is home to a majority of some one million Rohingyas, deemed as illegal immigrants by Myanmar. The government initially accused a group they identified as Aqa Mul Mujahidin as the terrorists who launched the initial attacks. Myanmar’s security forces then executed a “clearance operation” to hunt down the perpetrators. Unfortunately, according to the United Nations, that led to more than 75,000 Rohingyas fleeing from Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh. Allegations of arbitrary arrests, abuses, extra-judicial killings and security personnel raping Rohingya women prompted the exodus. But the Myanmar government has denied most of the allegations, while rubbishing the number of Rohingyas who have fled the area. The government claims only about 22,000 Rohingyas have left the area after the incident. For those who remained in their villages today, it was out of pure desperation that they decided to step up to tell their story. DESPERATE TO GET THE WORD OUT The Rohingyas were unsure of what the journalists could do for them or if their lives would be in jeopardy after they speak to the media. But what is clear is that without phones, other communication devices and being rather isolated in rural, difficult-to-get-to villages, they simply wanted to get their word out – to whoever is willing to listen. So desperate were some that they waved us down from a riverbank as we were traveling past in speedboats. A group of some 20 women attracted our attention by calling us to shore and pointing us towards their village. That’s when we knew we had to stop, turn back and speak with them. Once on shore, we were quickly surrounded by many Rohingya women wanting to relay their experiences of how their sons, brothers, fathers, husbands have been arrested as suspects and how they’re unsure of what will happen to them. One woman, 48-year-old Mamuda Hatu, spoke of how authorities arrested her 27-year-old son, accusing him of going to Bangladesh and potentially having connections with terrorists. A border guard stading in front of a group of villagers. (Photo: May Wong) But she said “some falsely reported that he went to Bangladesh. That's why he was arrested”. She said her “son has no connection with the terrorists. I have only one son. They took him for no reason.” Such experiences are similar to many that have surfaced in various media over the last nine months post-Oct 9 but it is difficult to authenticate and verify the facts. But that doesn’t mean it is not true. Hence the call by the international community and the United Nations to allow a UN-backed fact-finding mission to enter Myanmar and to investigate the allegations and accusations made against the security forces. But Myanmar has strongly rejected that suggestion. The country’s National Security Advisor, Thaung Tun reiterated Myanmar’s position that such a mission will “only aggravate the situation on the ground”. He said such a mission was derived from “allegations of wide-spread human rights abuses by the Myanmar security forces” and is “less than constructive”. The villagers at an IDP camp in Sittwe has limited access to healthcare. (Photo: May Wong) Speaking to foreign diplomats and international aid agencies based in Yangon recently, Mr Thaung Tun said “since October 2016, 44 civilians have been murdered and 27 abducted”. And based on recent reports of abductions and killings of Rohingyas, he said “it is clear that Muslim militants are taking out Muslim villagers who are perceived to be collaborating with the government.” He added “there is evidence of increasing terrorist activities in northern Rakhine” with the discovery of a terrorist training camp and tunnel in Maungdaw, Rakhine. This is the same narrative given by Myanmar’s Border Guard Police Commander, Brigadier-General San Lwin. Brigadier-General San Lwin said “the terrorists conduct secret trainings in the villages. There are some murder cases because the terrorists ask the villagers to kill the village administrator or certain people.” He suggested that some of the violence could be due to personal or business fallouts, while in other cases, “there can be some involvement by the terrorists.” Seemingly to drive the point home about terrorist activities among the Rohingyas, authorities brought journalists to a location where a house was burnt to the ground in one of the Buthidaung villages. There, the authorities related how a shoot-out between security forces and those in the house happened in July. They said Muslim militants in the house fired at security forces who were conducting checks after receiving information about suspicious activities there. Such incidents and increased security threats in Northern Rakhine have also affected Rohingyas already living in internally displaced persons or IDP camps just outside the state’s capital Sittwe. The Rohingyas were placed in IDP camps after violence broke out between the Buddhists and Muslims in 2012. Many Rohingyas have been living in those camps for more than five years now with no end in sight. One such camp is Thet Kay Pyin IDP housing some 6,000 Rohingyas, near Sittwe. Rohingyas are not allowed to leave the camps without authorisation and they complained of a lack of education, healthcare, food and unemployment. Children at an IDP camp in Sittwe, Rakhine. (Photo: May Wong) I saw children who were severely malnourished with the sick elderly unable to receive medical treatment. A resident, Zadah asked “we’re not animals. So why we have to live in this area? Why we have to live in this detention centre for five years?” The government insists the continuous violence in Rakhine is due to terrorist attacks or Muslim militants killing Muslim villagers. However, the Rohingyas say they are being discriminated and violently targeted by security force personnel. Whatever the case, it is clear the Rohingyas continue to live in fear, the security situation remains vulnerable and a complete resolution seems nowhere in sight right now. For Myanmar, which is trying to attain full democracy and to achieve national reconciliation, a divided nation and many other challenges will make those goals even more of a struggle. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 Asia Pacific

FILE - Boys search for useful items among the ashes of burnt houses after fire destroyed shelters at a camp for internally displaced Rohingya Muslims in the western Rakhine State near Sittwe, Myanmar, May 3, 2016. Myanmar on Sunday rejected allegations of crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during a crackdown against Rohingya Muslims last year, accusing the United Nations of making exaggerated claims in its report on the issue. Rohingya militants killed nine border guards in October, sparking a response in which the army was accused of raping Rohingya women, shooting villagers on sight and burning down homes, sending an estimated 75,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh. A U.N. report in February said security forces instigated a campaign that "very likely" amounted to crimes against humanity and possibly ethnic cleansing. This led to the establishment of a U.N. probe which is being blocked by Myanmar. The country's own 13-member investigation team - led by former head of military intelligence and now Vice President, Myint Swe - has been dismissed by human rights monitors as lacking independence to produce a credible report. Speaking to reporters gathered in Yangon to conclude its 8-month-long probe, Myint Swe said the U.N. report exaggerated the claims and created misunderstanding for the international community. "There is no possibility of crimes against humanity, no evidence of ethnic cleansing, as per U.N. accusations," said Myint Swe. He added that, "some people from abroad have fabricated news claiming genocide had occurred, but we haven't found any evidence." The panel said that the U.N. report did not take into consideration "violent acts" committed by the insurgents, instead focusing on the activities of the security forces. The U.N. did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Myanmar commission had received 21 reports from villagers of incidents of murder, rape, arson and torture by the security forces, but, unable to verify their veracity, it referred them to the authorities. "We opened doors for them to complain to the courts if they have evidence that they suffered human rights abuses, but no one came to open a lawsuit until now," Zaw Myint Pe, the secretary of the panel said. The commission blamed the violence on the insurgents, accusing them of links to organizations abroad, "set up to destabilize and harm Myanmar". The treatment of the roughly one million Muslim Rohingya has emerged as majority Buddhist Myanmar's most contentious rights issue as it makes a transition from decades of harsh military rule. The Rohingya are denied citizenship and classified as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite claiming roots in the region that go back centuries, with communities marginalized and occasionally subjected to communal violence. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 Reuters

Hundreds have been killed in violence across the Muslim-minority Rakhine state since October [File: Simon Lewis/Reuters] A government-appointed commission has cleared Myanmar security forces of systematic rape, murder and arson against Rohingya Muslims, dismissing UN allegations of widespread abuses during a recent crackdown. The commission examined the deadly violence which began in northwestern Rakhine state in October last year after suspected Rohingya fighters killed nine policemen in coordinated attacks on border guard posts near Bangladesh. In the ensuing military operation, security forces allegedly shot villagers at random, raped Rohingya women and burned down more than 1,000 houses. Hundreds were killed. The commission's findings were released as the government is refusing to allow a three-member UN mission to conduct its own probe into whether the security response amounted to "ethnic cleansing" of the stateless Rohingya minority. Giving their conclusions on Sunday, the state-backed commission revealed that any "excessive actions" were likely committed by low-rank "individual members of the security forces". "Some incidents [of abuse] appeared to be fabricated ... others had little evidence," the commission said in a press release. It also took aim at a detailed report by the UN's Human Rights Office released in February this year. The UN report said it was "very likely" that crimes against humanity had been committed during the crackdown. "The 'area clearance operations' have likely resulted in hundreds of deaths," the UN's human rights office said. Based on interviews with 204 witnesses who fled to Bangladesh, the UN alleged Myanmar security forces gang-raped Rohingya women, butchered children and tortured men. The government commission refuted the UN findings, saying "no such cases were uncovered" in its work. It also said the UN report lacked balance and failed to recognise the gravity of the attacks by Rohingya fighters. The commission conceded that foreign media and NGOs should have been granted access to the zone during the conflict to dispel "misconceptions". Myanmar's government is facing increasing pressure from human rights campaigners to grant the UN investigators entry to Rakhine state. The UN team was due to begin its work this month, but Aung San Suu Kyi's government declined to grant them visas, saying it would "only aggravate" the situation on the ground. John Fisher, Geneva director of Human Rights Watch, said on Thursday the United Nations must stand up to "Myanmar's bullying tactics of threatening visa denials". "Granting entry to the [UN team] would send a signal that the government is prepared to work collaboratively with the international community to help identify perpetrators of serious crimes, and deter future crimes by all parties to Myanmar's armed conflicts," he said. The Rohingya are reviled in Myanmar and widely seen as illegal immigrants. Roughly one million of the Muslim group are hemmed into the impoverished border zone near Bangladesh, which remains locked down and under curfew. On Friday, up to 50 "warning shots" were fired at a Rohingya village during a raid. In a separate incident, the bodies of three men and three women bearing machete and gunshot wounds were discovered near the Maungdaw township in Rakhine on Thursday. Last week, seven Buddhists were found dead in the conflict area. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 Al Jazeera

Sunday marked 72 years since the U.S. dropped one of two atomic bombs on Japan. On the eve of the anniversary, organizers of a peace event lit up torches on floats on the Motoyasu River next to the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima. Mari Yamaguchi/AP On Sunday, Japan marked 72 years since the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, destroying a portion of the city and its inhabitants, and heralding the end of World War II. About 50,000 people, including representatives from 80 nations, gathered for an annual ceremony at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park Sunday, reports The Japan Times. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for global cooperation to end nuclear weapons. "For us to truly realize a world without nuclear weapons, the participation of both nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states is necessary," he said. Last month, the United Nations reached its first agreement to ban nuclear weapons. But Japan, along with the nine nuclear-armed nations, including the United States, refused to take part in the negotiations and the vote. Critics of the treaty, including the United States, say it does nothing to counter the "grave threat posed by North Korea's nuclear program." Member states can sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons next month; if ratified, it will be put into effect 90 days later, reports The New York Times. Japan already adheres to a policy of not possessing, producing or allowing nuclear weapons on its territory. It is the only country to have ever come under nuclear attack. 72 years ago On Aug. 6, 1945, the atomic bomb dropped by the Enola Gay Boeing B-29 detonated, killing an estimated 140,000 people. Three days later, the U.S. dropped a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki, killing an estimated 75,000. Within weeks, Japan surrendered. Last year, then-President Obama became the first U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he called for an end to nuclear weapons. That visit provoked the ire of then-candidate Trump. "Does President Obama ever discuss the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor while he's in Japan? Thousands of American lives lost," Trump tweeted. So far, the Trump administration has focused on a denuclearized North Korea over a denuclearized world. In February Trump told Reuters that "if countries are going to have nukes, we're going to be at the top of the pack." Sanctions appear to be the current international tool of choice for taking on North Korea. A day before the Hiroshima anniversary, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to impose new sanctions on North Korea over last month's long-range missile tests. On Sunday, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres issued a message calling for the United States and other nuclear-armed countries to do more to rid the world of nuclear weapons. "(O)ur dream of a world free of nuclear weapons remains far from reality. The states possessing nuclear weapons have a special responsibility to undertake concrete and irreversible steps in nuclear disarmament." _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 NPR